I'm wondering what you all use to season or oil down you cast iron after use? I used paper towel and got too much lint. I also don't buy paper towels very often. Then I tried a lint-free baby diaper. It worked great--cast iron is coated but I think the diaper is holding most of the bottle of oil! What do you think about using a handkerchief dedicated to this purpose and keeping it in a plastic container?

Yeah, diapers are designed to be absorbant and getting OIL or grease OUT of it will be pretty darned tough. I use a paper towel, no lint. Try another brand. I have two paper towel holders in my little kitchen, one near the stove and one near the sink. Cain't live without.
Or just use a light spray oil, gently. Don't wipe. Heck, many times I don't coat with oil. My pans are old though and don't necessarily require it every time.

I seasoned my cast iron again, but on the top of the lids, I now see where lint stuck on from the paper towels. I guess it's baked in now. Will this affect anything? Will it burn off after a while or do I need to put pans on oven cleaning cycle and start over with fresh new pans? I didn't notice any lint inside the pans, but there's probably a little bit of lint in there, too. It's really not a lot of lint, but I don't know if that will affect the seasoning. I really wish I could have just bought a particular cloth for that instead of experimenting with different paper towels. I'm still looking for a nondisposable lint-free cloth since I don't really use paper towels. Have you had any lint problems before? I think if I could get past this little issue, I would enjoy these pans, but right now, I'm a little sad & frustrated about these pans which I don't want to use because I'm afraid of messing them up further. I have never seen a lint-free cloth--it's probably my rayon skirt! ;-)

Hmmm...I guess it depends on how much lint and how big. If we're talking dust size particles, I wouldn't worry about it - it'll burn off in cooking and paper is just basically carbon anyway, so it won't hurt you. If you mean decent size chunks that that are all over the place, then I might try to clean them out. The first thing that I would do is carbonize them, i.e. put the pan in a hot oven and burn them off - get the oven to 450 -475F, put the pan in for 15 minutes to half and hour, and take it out. That should effectively reduce them to ash and you can just brush them out after the pan cools down. If for some reason that doesn't work, then maybe a bit of scrubbing with a soft brush and water (like an old toothbrush) should work. I, like Biggles, have never had a problem with paper towels leaving any kind of residue. My recommendation would be that when you are seasoning the pan, make sure that you have a film of oil completely across the bottom and use the wadded paper towels to just gently wipe the oil around - don't scrub it. After the pan has cooled, then maybe be a bit more aggressive in removing the remaining oil, but still more of a wiping, rather than scrubbing action. In my experience, a pan won't be perfect after seasoning - you'll have to cook in it a few times before it really gets slick. Actually, deep frying is one of the best things that you can do to season a pan. Finally, as I've noted in other posts, I only have old, very smooth surface cast iron pans. The as-cast surface of newer cast iron is rather rough, and that might be what is abrading your paper towel and causing the lint. If that is the case, I would just be very gentle when wiping the surface so that the towel doesn't tear apart.

Burned'em off! Thanks!!! I think I will go with using a handkerchief. It seems to be lint-free. Oh, gentle with the paper towels?! Auuugggghhh! I was DEFINATELY "scrubbing"!!! I was really getting into my work! All seems well now--don't see any lint. I cooked an egg in there earlier and forgot to add butter. I had already heated the pan up for 10 min. The egg didn't stick at all even without any added butter or oil! Wow!

Just curious, what do you think of Alton Brown's method of cast iron care? From what i read from another post, Alton Brown does not rinse cast iron with water, but just wipes out the extra oil when he's done cooking. I like that and am thinking about trying it. Currently, I use the brush made by Lodge and I probably scrub too hard with it and could lose some seasoning if I keep using the brush and water each time...

My mother, BTW told me that she NEVER seasoned her cast iron or oiled the outside. I thought she used cast iron for 20 years. She never knew she had to do any of that. She said she never had rust and things cooked just fine in it. Hmmm...sometimes I just don't feel like oiling the outside of the pan and the lid! I also don't prefer to oil the handle each time because I don't like getting the oil back on my hands when I go to cook. WILL THERE COME A TIME WHEN I WON'T "REALLY" HAVE TO DO ALL THAT?

Glad to hear that it worked. Regarding cleaning cast iron, it depends on how messed up it is. If the surface is fairly clean, I'll just wipe it out with a paper towel or a damp washcloth. If it has some gunk in it, I'll wash it with a bit of soap and water, rinsing REAL well. If the gunk is really stuck on, then I'll use salt and paper towel or washcloth to scrub the gunk out, followed by washing and rinsing (dump a pile of salt in it and scrub it around the gunk). Another trick that I do is when I am through cooking, I'll deglaze the pan, so to speak, with water. That will loosen most if not all of the crud and then I just dump it in the drain and finish rinsing the pan out and drying it. If you do the salt scrubbing, it is a good idea to pour in some oil and season it again. Regardless of how I clean it out, if any water has come into contact with the pan, after I dry it I put it in the oven on low heat (or the residual heat in the oven from cooking) for at least a half hour to thoroughly dry the pan. I don't worry too much about cleaning my cast iron in a certain manner - I think some of the recommendations that you read or hear are overkill (regarding not using water oir soap). The only thing that I won't do in the normal cleaning of a pan is use a scouring pad, steel wool, or Brillo pad.

Regarding the outside - I just do that once, when I first season the pan. And, the next couple of times that the pan is used on a range it will smoke a bit from the oil on the bottom burning. The only reason that I can see to have the outside seasoned is to prevent rust.

I don't think my parents ever seasoned their pans either, and they worked just fine. I think part of the reason is that years ago we used much more fat in our cooking which helped season the pan as you cooked. Nowadays, most people are (wrongly) paranoid of oil and fats so they don't use enough. You'll find that when stuff sticks in the pans it is typically because you didn't use enough fat. You can only really get away with that on non-stick pans, but they have their own set of issues (re: other threads and posts on that subjest).

Awhile ago I posted a question about Baumalu copper cookware. Well, I chiseled open my wallet about 2 months ago and bought a 9.5" saucier for $25 (list price is around $75). I've used it a few times and thought that I'd post my opinion.

This pan is great. A huge bargain. It is 2mm thick hammered copper, tin lined, with a triple riveted cast iron handle. What I really like is the handle is really long - much longer than the Mauviel pans that I have. That allows you to find a balance point whereever it is most comfortable for you or you have enough handle so that you can brace it against your forearm if needed. At the barest simmer it will nicely reduce a sauce. The quality of the tin lining seems to be just as good as Mauviel. Needless to say, if I find this stuff again, in a pan that I need (like a big saute pan or sautoir) I will buy some more. If you can find it I would recommend trying it out.

Biggles - did you ever get your tin-relining fiasco resolved? Any apologies or extra service from the offending company? I'm always on the look-out for second-hand copper, and if I find some that needs to be re-lined (or at some point in the future the stuff I have may need it) I'd like to have a good tin liner available.

after struggling with stainless pans after many years of using cast iron and black steel. You have to use what your employer supplies.

I one day tried to season the stainless pans...

Damn it works, the suckers stopped sticking and burning every time you turned your back. You have to repeat the treatment regularely and it sure don't look that pretty but it works. I also use a thick aluminium plate between the pans and the burners, it helps with the hotspots.

I'm making chili for a cook off and needed another stock pot. A friend of mine loaned me hers (it's non-stick Analon 10qt.) to use. My question is "Will the chili and the spices react with the non-stick interior if I use it for longer than 3-4 hours?" I usually let my chili simmer for the entire day to let the flavors meld together, but never having used a non-stick pan before, I'm at a total loss as to what to do? Should I just go out and buy a cheap stainless one to use? I don't want to ruin hers....TIA!!

No, it won't react. Most non-stick interiors are teflon or some teflon derivative, which is used in the chemical industry precisely because it is non-reactive. Now, if the lining is scratched, to the point where you can see the underlying metal, you might get a slight reaction, but I wouldn't worry about it. If it is a steel pan, no worries at all, if aluminum, and your chili has acid in it (i.e. tomatoes) there will be some reaction but it shouldn't affect anything. You should be fine.

No, it won't react. Most non-stick interiors are teflon or some teflon derivative, which is used in the chemical industry precisely because it is non-reactive. Now, if the lining is scratched, to the point where you can see the underlying metal, you might get a slight reaction, but I wouldn't worry about it. If it is a steel pan, no worries at all, if aluminum, and your chili has acid in it (i.e. tomatoes) there will be some reaction but it shouldn't affect anything. You should be fine.

Thanks Cynicalb!! I've never really used non-stick before (other than what I have through my home business, but only because I have to have them to be able to demonstrate them). All of my pots and pans are either stainless steel, cast iron, or Caphalon Hard Anondized Alum. I've never been a huge fan of teflon since I do a lot of high heat stir frying and don't trust the teflon at all. I don't consider myself a novice in the kitchen, but this one threw me for a loop! LOL!

So it has been established that stainless, cast iron, copper are all good for browning, making sauces with the resulting fond, etc.

Tell me then, if non-stick is dangerous and faulty, how do you cook eggs and other delicate things (crepes, Swedish pancakes, etc)? With tablespoons of oil? I love the flavor that butter and bacon drippings impart on food, but for those of us who are calorie concious, what peice of cookware is safe, durable, and suitable for use with small amounts of oil?

So it has been established that stainless, cast iron, copper are all good for browning, making sauces with the resulting fond, etc.

Tell me then, if non-stick is dangerous and faulty, how do you cook eggs and other delicate things (crepes, Swedish pancakes, etc)? With tablespoons of oil? I love the flavor that butter and bacon drippings impart on food, but for those of us who are calorie concious, what peice of cookware is safe, durable, and suitable for use with small amounts of oil?

This whole non-stick issue being dangerous is a damed Chicken Little story and it's gone too far. If you're dumb enough to set your non-stick pan on a flame and walk away for 20 minutes you deserve what's coming to you. However, if you follow the manufacturer's instructions for using the pan? It's no more dangerous than a butterfly.
Use and enjoy whatever pan you've got and move on. Be frightened of things like hurricanes, not fry pans.